The Matrix Fantasy
by KJ Groening
Summary: A retelling of Neo's journey as he learns from mysterious rebels about the true nature of his reality and his role in the war against its controllers in a world that is only limited by the minds of freed humans.
1. REC: Log

(!- - Riiiiing - -)

…

…

(!- - Riiiiing - -)

…

Call trans opt: received. 2-19-98 13:24:18 REC: Log

* * *

C: Yeah?

T: Is everything in place?

C: You weren't supposed to relieve me.

Trace program: running

T: I know but, I felt like taking a shift.

* * *

4794948731562232312070982675120871095610

6745610674737403805470555528869089320459

9114268673802462358227263109017670358057

2433220730481286571310459911426867087109

5610674561064794948731562232312070982675

1208710956106745610674737403805470555528

8690893204599114268673802462358227263109

0176703580572433220730481286571310459911

4268670871095610674561061253274233355729

9857159728867902822155133655733211009047

9494873156223231207098267512087109561067

4561067473740380547055552886908932045991

1426867380246235822726310901767035805724

3322073048128657131045991142686708710956

1067456106479494873156223231207098267512

0871095610674561067473740380547055552886

9089320459911426867380246235822726310901

7670358057243322073048128657131045991142

6867087109561067456106125327423335572998

5715972886790282215513365573321100904794

9487315622323120709826751208710956106745

6106747374038054705555288690893204599114

2686738024623582272631090176703580572433

2207304812865713104599114268670871095610

6745610647949487315622323120709826751208

7109561067456106747374038054705555288690

8932045991142686738024623582272631090176

7035805724332207304812865713104599114268

6708710956106745610612532742333557299857

1597288679028221551336557332110090479494

8731562232312070982675120871095610674561

0674737403805470555528869089320459911426

8673802462358227263109017670358057243322

0730481286571310459911426867087109561067

4561064794948731562232312070982675120871

0956106745610674737403805470555528869089

3204599114268673802462358227263109017670

* * *

C: You like him, don't you? You Like watching him.

* * *

47949487315622323120709826751208710956106

74561067473740380547055552886908932045991

14268673802462358227263109017670358057243

32207304812865713104599114268670871095610

67456106479494873156223231207098267512087

10956106745610674737403805470555528869089

32045991142686738024623582272631090176703

58057243322073048128657131045991142686708

71095610674561061253274233355729985715972

88679028221551336557332110090459911426867

* * *

T: What? Don't be ridiculous!

* * *

47949487315622323120709826751208710956106

74561067473740380547055552886908932045991

14268673802462358227263109017670358057243

32207304812865713104599114268670871095610

67456106479494873156223231207098267512087

10956106745610674737403805470555528869089

32045991142686738024623582272631090176703

58057243322073048128657131045991142686708

71095610674561061253274233355729985715972

* * *

C: We're gonna kill him, you understand that right?

* * *

88 6676 5 25 8599 5 62 9250

68 6639 7 20 5599 1 76 8249

34 0189 0 81 8798 7 69 0031

02 9263 2 68 1407 8 55 5761

49 6153 6 55 1773 1 81 6125

91 4537 4 17 1522 8 11 7514

67 4936 3 15 5570 0 99 1450

85 8867 9 10 6938 4 26 1366

38 4287 6 04 3552 2 00 1477

78 2567 6 81 4128 2 37 1795

* * *

T: Morpheus believes he is the one.

* * *

3 2257 3 9 9934 6

5 2038 9 7 3751 3

9 0108 5 9 0444 0

6 8622 6 7 6918 2

3 0688 4 1 5987 2

4 5549 6 6 0207 5

6 7809 5 2 8963 0

6 4840 4 3 8996 1

* * *

C: Do you?

* * *

5503 1 5 5268

4939 1 9039

1922 9 9539

3816 6 2739

3137 0 1307

5263 7 5352

* * *

T: I - - uh… it doesn't matter what I believe.

* * *

555 6

_ 6 99 1

_2 98 7

_0 99 9

_0650 2

* * *

C: You don't do you?

* * *

!- click -

* * *

T: Did you hear that?

C: Hear what?

T: Are you sure this line is clean?

C: Yeah, of course I'm sure.

T: I better go.

* * *

 **506**

* * *

TRINITY

I was sure I in a secure location; a rundown abandoned apartment building. I set up my laptop and started the override code. Our current target never turned his computer off so, I would be able to hack into it whenever I needed. I was just started when…

BAM

"Freeze! Police!"

"Hands on your Head!"

"Do it! Do it now!"

About three or four police officers kicked down the door of the room I was in and they all started yelling at me. I slowly put my hands up, cringing while I did so. I hated hurting innocent humans. They were just doing their jobs. I heard one of the officers take out a pair of hand cuffs and slowly approach me. I allowed myself one last moment of regret and then sprung. I whirled around, caught his dominant hand and chopped down on it with my left hand; breaking it. He screamed out in pain, but I was now in fight mode. I slammed my palm into his chin; jerking his head back violently and leapt into the air. I delivered a powerful kick to his chest that sent him flying across the room into the wall. The other two officers looked at him dumbfounded and I took advantage of their distractedness. I kicked up a chair into the face of the closest officer. His buddy whipped out his gun and started shooting at me. I ran up and across the wall to position myself in front of him. I grabbed his shooting hand and aimed at the officer who'd been hit with the chair. He was slowly getting back up and I emptied the clip into him. Then I kicked my foot into the face of the stunned officer, knocking him out.

I looked around at the damage.

"Shit." I muttered. I called my boss on my flip phone. "Morpheus, the call was traced. I don't know how."

"I know. They cut the hard line." He responded. "There's no time. You're going to have to get to another exit."

I looked around nervously. "Are there any agents?"

"Yes."

"God damn it!" I hissed.

"You have to focus Trinity. There's a phone at Well's and Lake."

That was pretty far away from me.

"You can make it." Morpheus said encouragingly, as though he had hear my thoughts.

"Ok." I said quietly.

"Go."

I hung up and went.

As I stepped into the hall the elevator at the end of the hallway opened revealing an agent and shitload of officers behind them. I gave them my best "Oh shit!" face and booked it in the opposite direction. I turned at the end of the hallway and rushed to the emergency exit rout. I paused to look down. Two more agents waited for me at the bottom. Double shit! I started climbing upwards to the roof. Once there I ran straight ahead over the peaks and valleys of the shingles; I leapt over any distance between buildings.

POW POW!

Two shot fired at me and barely missed. I turned a corner and jumped over a road to another building. Of course, the agents were able to make it, but this would ensure that no more police officers were on the chase.

I hid behind a wooden board. I heard the agent land. Only one. There was no way out. Wait. A window was on the wall of a building in front of me. It was a long shot, but I was in peek physical form, so I bolted. I ran, and I ran and I ran then I dove straight through the window; took a tumble down a set of stairs and I landed face forward guns ready.

I was winded and scared. The lamp near the window squeaked as it swung.

"Ge up Trinity." I told myself. "Just get up."

GET UP!

I ran out the building, turned a corner and spotted it: a payphone. A hard line. Suddenly, a truck passing by swerved so it was facing the booth. The phone started ringing. The truck hit the gas. I had no choice. I dashed for it. I ran as fast as I could and grabbed the phone. I stared at the truck as it barreled towards me. My eyes went wide with unchecked fright. My heart just about stopped and then…

I was out.


	2. Neo

NEO

Recently, I'd been feeling like the world around me is not real. It all started a few weeks ago, and ever since then, I've been feeling more and more disconnected. I've spent nights on the internet reading articles on world events. I came across something in one article referencing something the government was keeping secrete; something called a Matrix. I started researching this Matrix and found a lot of articles about it redacted. I picked up hacking skills solely to have access to files that the public couldn't access. I found out that a guy named Trinity helped another guy named Morpheus hack into the IRS D-Base. Though, really, I was just doing all this to avoid sleeping. During the day, my work seems to matter less and less to me. I've never been a social person, so I don't have any work friends or any friends at all. I'm not mean to anyone; I'm just not interested.

I woke with a start in my apartment with my head on my cluttered desk. I'd fallen asleep again but, when I looked at my computer, the screen was black, and it read:

 _Wake up Neo…_

Neo's not my real name. It's my hacker alias. The screen went black again, and the next message slowly typed on.

 _The Matrix has you…_

I tried to ctrl + alt + del my computer, but it didn't work.

Follow the white rabbit…

"Follow the white rabbit?" I mused. I pressed esc.

 _Knock, knock, Neo._

I leaned in. That last one had me stumped.

Knock, knock! I jumped in my chair. Someone was knocking on my door. I looked at the door quickly and then back to my screen. How did it know?

"Who is it?" I called out.

"It's Choi."

Ah, Choi. He was a neighbor of mine. He occasionally asked me to help him out financially for… shady stuff. He felt indebted to me for covering for him once for the police. It had actually been a misunderstanding on my end but, ever since then he'd been trying to get me laid; because I guess he thought that was an appropriate way to pay me back?

I stared at my screen. It had gone black.

"Yeah, yeah," I said. I walked to the door and opened it. Choi was standing there with his girl of the week.

"Hey man, you got a twenty?" He asked. I rolled my eyes but went to my drawer and pulled out a couple of bills. I handed them to him through the crack of my door.

"Halleluiah! You're my savior man! My own personal, Jesus Christ." He said enthusiastically. His girlfriend smiled and rested herself against him. I turned to close the door.

"Hey!" Choi added quickly. "You ok? You look whiter than usual."

"I'm …uh…" I struggled, "It's my computer, it uh… Do you get that feeling where you're not sure if awake or still dreaming?" Choi nodded knowingly

"Mmhm." He said, "All the time. It's called mescaline. It's the only way to fly." I frowned. That's not what I wanted, and it made me concerned for my sort of friend.

"Hey, it sounds to me like you need to unplug, man," Choi said. "You know, get some R & R?" He turned to his girlfriend. "Hey, what do you think, Dujour? Should we take him with us?" I rolled my eyes again. I didn't want to go to a loud, obnoxious party.

Dujour's looked me over. "Definitely."

"No. I can't." I said. "I have work uh… tomorrow."

"Come on," Dujour said while draping herself over Choi. "It'll be fun. I promise."

I was about to refuse again when I noticed something on her shoulder that gave me chills. She had a tattoo of a white rabbit on her left shoulder blade.

 _Follow the white rabbit._

How did it know?

"Ok," I said. "I'll come."

So, the party wasn't that much fun. There was loud, obnoxious music, people in tight leather dancing to it, and much more drunk or high people. I stood in a corner very slowly nursing a beer. I didn't really like alcohol, but I was didn't want to stay sober for this. I kept looking around for anything unusual. A young woman caught my eye. She was dressed in a tight leather dress, and she was walking towards me. As she got closer, I couldn't help but notice she had a very young face. I stared at her as she approached me. She stumbled on her heels a little and curtsied in front of me. That was cute.

"Hey," She said. "It's really uh… I mean, hi!" she cleared her throat and pitched her voice lower. "Hello, Neo."

Ok, I was officially intrigued.

"How do you know that name?" I asked.

She looked away, "I know a lot of things about you."

"And who are you?"

"My name is Trinity." She turned her gorgeous eyes back to me. Woah, what did she say her name was?

"Wait," I said, waving a hand at her. " _The_ Trinity? The one that cracked the IRS D-Base?"

She looked surprised.

"Oh, yeah," She said. "That was quite a while ago."

"Jesus." It slipped out. She looked concerned for a second.

"What?" She sounded apprehensive.

"Oh, nothing!" I assured her. "It's just that; I thought you were a guy." She smiled and blushed.

"Oh, yeah." She said. "Most guys do."

"Was that you on my computer?" I asked. "How did you do that?"

Trinity looked around, nervous all of a sudden. "Um. Right now, all I can tell you is that you're in danger. I brought you here to warn you."

"Of what?"

"They're watching you Neo." She said. "Th- - "

"Who is?" I cut her off.

"Please, listen." She stepped closer to me. I could smell her now; she was sweet like lilacs. My heart rate spiked as she whispered in my ear.

"I know why you're here, Neo. I know what you've been doing. I know why you hardly sleep, why you live alone and why night after night, you sit at your computer." My mind began to race. "You're looking for him. I know because I was once looking for the same thing. And when he found me he told me I wasn't looking for him; I was looking for the answer. It's the question that drives us, Neo. It's the question that brought you here. You know the question. Right?"

"What is the Matrix?"

"Yes." She breathed, defiantly relieved. "The answer is out there, Neo. And it will find you if you want it to."

Beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep, beep…

"Oh shit!" I slapped my alarm clock silent. 9:18. I was late again.

I work at a place called Metacortex. It's one of the top software companies in the world. When I arrived there, I was called into my boss's office.

"Mr. Anderson." My boss said to me. "What's going on with you?" I stayed silent. "Your work quality has been going down these past few days, and you've been late eight days in a row. I'm very concerned, Mr. Anderson." He looked at me. I still had nothing to say. He shook his head. "Everyone here understands that they are part of a whole. If an employee has a problem, the company has a problem." He leaned forward. "Are you ok?" He remained silent, waiting for my response.

"Yeah." I lied. "I'm great!" My boss looked at me. I don't think he believed me.

"You have vacation days saved up and two sick days you can use." He said finally. "Look, Thomas. You need to start doing better, or I will have no choice but to fire you. I don't want to do that." He looked at me, worried. "Do I make myself clear?"

He did, transparently so. He thought that I was a little sick; that I needed a few days off. But that wasn't it. Nothing was real, and nothing in this world mattered.

"Yes, sir." I lied again. "Perfectly clear."

Once I was back to my desk, I returned to researching the Matrix. I had barely started when a delivery man came to my cubicle.

"Thomas Anderson?"

I looked up. "Yeah, that's me." He came to me and offered a parcel. "I didn't order anything."

"Oh." The delivery man said. "It's a gift."

I signed for it.

"Have a nice day!" He said as he left. I stared at him as he went. For some reason, I kind of didn't want him to have a nice day. I ripped open the parcel and dumped its contents on to my hand. It was a black flip phone.

Riiiiiiing!

I held the phone away from him. It rang the moment it was in my hand like it knew. I answered it.

"Hello?" I asked hesitantly.

"Hello, Neo. Do you know who this is?" My head spun. I had to lean on my desk.

"Morpheus?" I breathed.

"Yes. I've been looking for you. I don't' know if your ready to see what I want to show you, but unfortunately, you and I have run out of time." I didn't realize I'd been living on borrowed time. "They're coming for you, Neo, and I don't know what they're going to do." I tried to remain calm.

"Who's coming for me?"

"Stand up and see for yourself." There were here? Right now?

"Like, right now?" I squeaked.

"Yes. Right now."

Trembling, I slowly peeked over my cubby.

"Do it slowly," Morpheus instructed. "The elevator." I looked. By the elevator, three men dressed in black suite, wearing sunglasses were talking to the secretary. She nodded politely and pointed right at me! In unison, the three men looked at me. My heart stopped, and I dropped to the ground.

"Oh, shit!" I whispered.

"Yes."

"What do they want from me." I tried and failed not to sound frantic.

"I don't know, but if you don't want to find out, I suggest you get out of there."

"How?" I asked.

"I can guide you and help you, but you must do exactly as you say."

"Ok." I agreed.

"The cubicle across from you is empty."

I paced back and forth, nervously. "What if they- -"

"Go!" Now!"

I rushed across into the empty cubicle. I hid in the closest corner to me.

"Stay here for just a moment."

I nodded. I heard someone talking. It sounded like… me?

"I don't have anything to tell you guys." My voice said. "I'm just here, doing my job."

"We would like to have a word with you. Please come with us." One of the men said.

"When I tell you," Morpheus said, "go to the end of the row to the office at the end of the hall. Stay as low as you can." I nodded, too scared to make any noise.

(!- - breath - -)

(!- - breath - -)

I looked at the direction of my cubicle.

"Go, now." I quickly squatted out and almost ran into the police officer who had escorted the mysterious men. They were trying to persuade a very realistic hologram (or something) of me to come with them but, fake me wasn't having it apparently.

I scuttled, bent over, to the end of the row and passed Bill, making a photocopy. I closed myself in the empty office, still squatting; afraid to break the 'stay as low as you can' rule.

"Good. Now, outside there is a scaffold."

(!- - breath - -)

(!- - breath - -)

"How do you know all this?" I asked.

"We don't have time, Neo. To your left, there's a window. Go to it."

I walked to it.

"Open it."

I opened it.

"You can use the scaffold to get to the roof."

I leaped away from the window. "What? No way! This is crazy!" I hissed into the phone.

"There are two ways out of this building. One is that scaffold; the other is in their custody. You take a chance either way. I leave it to you."

(!- - click! - -)

I looked at my phone and began to panic a little. This is insane. But then I thought. I care about this. All this emotion and panic; it reminded me that at some point in my life, things had brought meaning to my life. These past few weeks had drained the significance out of everything. I'd been getting by on pleasantries and half-assed small talk but, now I wanted to see how this would end.

I walked to the window, climbed out onto the ledge, and peeked over the edge. It was a pretty steep fall; I'll tell you that. I flinched back and braced myself. I waddled onto the ledge and tried to make my way to the scaffold. There was a metal pillar that blocked my way. I tried to climb around it, but in the struggle, I dropped my phone and watched as it plummeted. I didn't even see it hit the ground. It had gotten too small to see be then. Suddenly my whole being began to scream, "I don't want to die! I don't want to die! I don't want to die!" I clung to the pillar with my eyes squeezed tight.

"I- -! I can't do this." I choked.


	3. Interrogation

US

During Neo's escape, a dream version of him distracted the agents by being uncooperative. They eventually gave up trying to persuade him and grabbed him to drag him with them. This did not work. The dream Neo quickly disintegrated into sand. The agents realized that they had been tricked and that Morpheus was in the Matrix. They reengaged their tracking systems and found Neo in the abandoned office in the corner.

Neo had apparently attempted to climb onto the ledge of the building and scuttle his way to the abandoned scaffold. He had chickened out when he dropped his phone and realized that a fall that great would surely kill him. He surrendered to the agents and allowed them to escort him to their headquarters. An unidentified woman on a motorcycle seemed displeased about that.

Neo was brought to the agents' interrogation room and left alone to maximize his discomfort. After an hour, Agent Smith, Agent Brown and Agent Jones entered the room in single file. Agent Brown and Agent Jones flanked Neo and Agent Smith sat in front of him. Agent Smith placed a large file with Neo's name printed on it. He carefully unbound it and opened the file. He glanced through a few of the pages to intimidate Neo. It worked. Neo shifted uncomfortably in his chair and tried to read the file upside down.

 _S: As you can see, we've had our eye on you for some time now Mr. Anderson._

Neo looked up when his name was spoken. Since the party where he met Trinity, Neo had been relating to his birth given name less and less; and hearing Agent Smith use it so casually severed the last few ties he had to it.

 _S: It seems you have been living two lives. In one life, you're Thomas A. Anderson: Program writer for a respectable software company. You have a social security number, you pay your taxes and you_ … (!- - Agent Smith looked up at Neo, unimpressed. - -) _help your landlady carry out her garbage._

Neo's eyes darted all around the room. It made him uncomfortable that these men knew so much about his personal life.

 _S: The other life is lived in computers where you go by the hacker alias "Neo" and are guilty of every computer crime we have a law for._

Neo's eyes widened at that last part. He knew he was guilty of hacking into secure networks and reading files that did not belong to him, but he couldn't think of any other crime he could have committed. He didn't steal or blackmail or… his limited imagination cut this list short, but he was sure he hadn't broken _all_ the laws they had for computers.

 _S: One of these lives has a future…_ (!- - Agent Smith closed the file.- -) _and one of theme does not_.

Agent Smith sat up straight and tried to appear more vulnerable. It did not work.

 _S: I'm going to be as forthcoming as I can be, Mr. Anderson._ (!- - Neo looked up.- _-) You're here because we need your help._

Agent Smith removed his sunglasses and placed them away from himself; believing, erroneously, that this would help with making him appear even more vulnerable.

 _S: We know that you've been contacted by a certain individual. A man who calls himself "Morpheus."_

Agent Brown and Agent Jones glanced at each other.

 _S: Whatever you think you know about this man is irrelevant._ (!- - Neo looked down at his lap. - -) _He is considered by many authorities to be the most dangerous man alive._

Neo did not believe this. If Morpheus was a bad person, he surely wouldn't have tried to rescue him at the office.

 _S: My colleagues believe that I am wasting my time with you, but I believe you wish to do the right thing. We're willing to wipe the slate clean._ (!- - Agent Smith pushed the file aside. Visually wiping the slate clean.- -) _Give you a fresh start. All that we're asking in return is your cooperation in bringing a known terrorist to justice._

Smith waited for Neo's response. Neo nodded. He did not believe what Agent Smith was telling him.

 _N: Yeah. It sounds like you're trying to offer me a deal._ (!- - Agent Smith nodded as encouragingly as he could manage; which wasn't that encouraging.- -) _But I'm not going to say anything until I talk to my lawyer._

Agent Smith frowned.

 _S: Oh, Mr. Anderson._ (!- - Agent Smith retrieved his sunglasses and put them on.- -) _You disappoint me._

Neo knew that the Agents were framing him, or at the very least exaggerating his crimes, at that moement. It was his right to consult a lawyer before taking any deals offered to him. This new revelation gave him a small boost of confidence.

 _N: You can't scare me with this Gestapo crap. I know my rights. I want a lawyer._

 _S: Tell me, Mr. Anderson…_ (!- - Agent Smith leaned forward to emphasize this upcoming point.- -) _What good is a lawyer if you are unable to speak to them?_

Neo quickly glanced and Agent Jones; as if he was going to do something to him. Neo began to feel weird. His blood pressure increased when he realized that his mouth was melting itself shut. He tried to counter this by opening his mouth wide, but it snapped shut again and completely vanished. Neo panicked, and he threw himself into the corner of the small room. He began to scream but the sounds were muffled behind his non-existing mouth. Agent Brown and Agent Jones grabbed Neo. Agent Brown unbuttoned Neo's shirt and then, with the help of Agent Jones, tossed him onto the table. Neo tried to hurl himself off the table; thus Agent Brown and Agent Jones restrained him. Agent Smith walked around the table and positioned himself in front of Neo.

 _S: You're going to help us Mr. Anderson…_ (!- - He pulled out a small container of tracker bugs and removed one. - -) _whether you want to or not._

Agent Smith activated the tracker. The tracker morphed into a pupa and then broke out, fully mature. Agent Smith placed the now activated bug on Neo's exposed stomach. Neo thrashed violently, trying in vain to throw the bug off of him. The bug crawled to his belly button and burrowed itself inside his body cavity. Neo screamed and thrashed. He was alarmed and disturbed by how painless this event was. He bucked and kicked and twisted his body until…


	4. Tumbling Down the Rabbit Hole

NEO

I woke, kicking and screaming in a bed. I was still panicked and shivering. I looked around to see where I was. I was in my bed, in my apartment. When did I get here? How did I get here? Thunder rumbled outside, and I looked to my window. I rubbed my stomach. It had all been a dream. An extremely fucked up dream. I flopped back in bed, relieved.

Riiiing!

I looked up. The landline phone on my desk was ringing. I slowly went to it and started at it. Wait…had this all been a dream? Or was it some sort of jump cut?

Riiiing!

I picked it up.

"This line is tapped so I must be brief." Morpheus! "They got to you first, but they've underestimated how important you are." I bit my lip. I was a nobody; how could I be important?

"If they knew what I know. You would probably be dead."

"What are you talking about?" I demanded. "Why are you doing this to me?"

"You are the one, Neo." He said.

I scoffed.

"You see you may have spent the last few years looking for me…" Morpheus mused, "But I've spent my _entire_ life looking for you."

I blinked. I'd been telling myself that my feelings and new behavior had started a few weeks ago but, weeks turned into months; months turned into years… had I always been this obsessed with the Matrix? How had I managed to keep this secret for so long? Especially if the number of fucks I gave about my job had been diminishing for years?

"Now, do you still want to meet?"

"Yes."

"Then go to the Adam's street bridge."

I waited just under the bridge since it was pouring outside. I paced nervously. What if I was being punked? What if the men in black came back? A car pulled up next to me. I jumped away from it. I had psyched myself out. The back door on the passenger side swung open.

"Get it," Trinity said. I looked at her in disbelief. This was really happening. She smiled at me. "Please." I climbed in and sat next to her. The car rode off. As I got comfortable in my seat, the guy sitting next to the driver turned and pointed a gun at me. I flinched away.

"What the hell is this?" I demanded.

"Neo." Trinity pleaded. "It's necessary for our protection."

"From what?" I asked. "From me?"

Trinity looked at me, her face full of concern. I realized that she had seated herself as far away from me as the car allowed. "Yes." They were afraid of me.

"Take off your shirt." The man in the front ordered. I turned to him.

"I'm sorry. What?"

He glanced to the driver. "Stop the car."

The driver nodded, and the car screeched to a halt.

"Listen to us, Coppertop." The man said sternly, "We don't have time to answer twenty questions. Right now, there's only one rule: our way or the highway."

I looked at Trinity. She looked unsure. I frowned.

"What if I decide the highway?" I said, threatening to open the door.

"Neo, please," Trinity said quietly. I turned to her. "Please trust me. I know you've been down that road, Neo. You know exactly where it ends. I know that's not where you want to be. It's where I don't want you to be." I sat in stunned silence for a bit; then I took my hand off the door. Trinity nodded to the gun-wielding man, and he prompted the driver to move.

"Apoc, lights," Trinity said. The driver killed the lights. Trinity reached down and picked up a funky looking machine. "Lie back. Lift up your shirt." She positioned the device over my belly button. Flashbacks of the scorpion looking things popped into my head.

"What is that thing?" I asked hesitantly. Trinity lifted my shirt and pressed the tube part of the machine against my skin.

"We think you're bugged." She answered distractedly. Apoc picked up the lighter cable attached to the machine and plugged it into the cigarette lighter. She glanced at her the man next to her; who was still pointing the gun at me.

Trinity started fiddling with the machine. "Try and relax." She instructed. This made me tighten up and become not relaxed. Little arms sprung out of the machine. I winced. I was scared.

"Come on," Trinity muttered to herself as she looked at a screen attached to the machine. She shifted the device around to get a better angle. As she did that, I felt an uncomfortable twinge in my abdomen. Oh God! That whole thing with the men in black hadn't been a dream!

"It's on the move," Apoc noted.

"Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, my God!" I whimpered.

"Shh," Trinity said calmly. "I've got you."

"You're going to lose it." The man murmured.

"No, I'm not," Trinity said confidently. "Clear." Suddenly my body was charged with volts of electricity. I felt my body arch back, and something inside me got sucked out.

"Jesus Christ!" I screamed. I looked at the machined. A beaker like part had popped out of the machine and inside it was the scorpion thing from my nightmare. "That thing was real!" I sat up. I felt my stomach. Like last time, it didn't hurt. Trinity took the beaker and tossed its contents onto the street.

We drove in silence for the rest of the way. I went over everything that had happened the past few days in my head. I barely noticed when we arrived at a building when we walked into the rain when we climbed the spiraling staircase. I focused up when we got to a double door. I looked around at the people around me. Trinity was standing next to me.

"This is it." She said. I looked and Apoc and the other guy. They were holding hands. I turned to the doors and sighed. I was about to meet with a known terrorist; this should go great.

"Any last-minute advice?" I asked sarcastically.

"Be honest," Trinity answered. I turned to her. She was looking at her hands. "He knows more than you can imagine." That was unsettling. With that, I opened the doors.

At the end of the room, facing the window, was a bald man in a black leather trench coat. He turned to me.

"At last."

I walked towards him cautiously. The room was relatively small. There were two cushion chairs facing each other. Next to them, there was a round table with a glass of water on it.

"Welcome, Neo." Morpheus walked confidently to me. "As you have no doubt guessed. I am Morpheus."

"It's an honor to meet you," I whispered. Morpheus stuck out his hand. I slowly put mine in his, and he shook.

"No." He said. "The honor is mine." He gestured to the chair facing the window.

"Please, come sit."

I thumped down. I kept an eye on all the people around me, assessing how much danger I was in. Trinity went and closed the door we came in through, Apoc and her… boyfriend…husband… friend was flanking me.

"I imagine that right now you're feeling a bit like Alice." Morpheus moved to sit in the chair in front of mine but didn't actually sit. "Tumbling down the rabbit hole, hmm?"

Was he making a joke? I nodded politely. "You could say that."

"I can see it in your eyes." Morpheus turned away from me and moved to behind the chair. "You have the look of a man who accepts what he sees because he is expecting to wake up. Ironically, this is not far from the truth." I looked at my lap.

"Do you believe in fate, Neo?" He asked me. I looked up to him. He wanted an answer.

"No," I answered.

"Why not?"

"Because I don't like the idea that I'm not in charge of my life," I admitted.

"I know exactly what you mean," Morpheus said while gesturing to me. He sat in his chair. "Let me tell you why you're here." He fiddled with a little box in his hands. "You're here because you know something. What you know you can't explain, but you feel it. You've felt it your entire life that there's something wrong with the world. You don't' know what it is, but it's there like a splinter in your mind, driving you mad. It is this feeling that has brought you to me." He paused. I sat silently. I didn't have anything to add to that.

"Do you know what I'm talking about?" Morpheus asked.

"The Matrix." I breathed.

"Do you want to know what it is?"

I shook my head. I was afraid, but curiosity trumped my fear.

"The Matrix is everywhere." Morpheus explained, "It is all around us. Even now, in this very room. You can see it when you look out your window or when you turn on your television. You can feel it when you go to work when you go to church when you pay your taxes. It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth."

I was shaking. This all made sense. I did feel something, everywhere, all the time. But…

"What is the truth?" I asked.

Morpheus leaned forward in his seat. "That you are a slave, Neo. Like everyone else, you were born into bondage, born into a prison that you cannot smell or taste of touch. A prison… for your mind." He leaned back afterward. Seemingly satisfied with his explanation. I sat, dumbfounded, I didn't know what he was talking about.

"Unfortunately, no one can be told what the Matrix is." He continued. I watched as he opened the little box he'd been fiddling with. "You have to see it for yourself." He dumped the box's contents into his hand and placed the box on the table next to us.

"This is your last chance." He leaned forward, and I leaned away from him. I was… intimidated. "After this, there is no turning back."

He opened his left hand to reveal a little blue pill. "You take the blue pill, the story ends, and you wake up in your bed, believing whatever you want to believe.

He opened his right hand to reveal a little red pill. "You take the red pill, you stay in Wonderland, and I show you how deep the rabbit hole goes."

I stared at the pills. I looked into his reflective sunglasses.

What do I do?

Which should I pick?

I reached for the red pill to…

"Remember." Morpheus' voice stopped me. I looked at him. "All I'm offering is the truth. Nothing more."

I took the red pill and swallowed it with a swig of water. I heard a sigh of relief from Trinity. Morpheus got up.

"Follow me." He ordered. I obeyed. He led me to another room with multiple computer screens, a record player looking thing, multiple goggles suspended with wires. He handed something to a man standing by the door.

"Apoc. Are we online?"

Apoc sat down in front of the computers. "Almost."

"Time is always against us." Morpheus gestured to the wooden chair next to a mirror. "Please, take a seat there." As I approached the chair, Apoc's buddy removed my jacket. Trinity attached electrodes to my arms and neck. She smiled at me. Everyone was doing so much; it was hard to keep track of everything. There was a phone they took off the hook. The bald guy was looking into some goggles of some sort. I became very nervous. I gripped the chair arms and closed my eyes tight.

"Don't worry," Trinity whispered to me. I opened my eyes. "I did all this too. It's not that bad."

"Ok." I breathed.

"The pill you took is a part of a trace program," Morpheus explained. "It's designed to disrupt your input/output carrier signal, so we can pinpoint your location."

I frowned. It sounded like I was a computer.

"What does that mean?" I murmured.

The bald guy at the goggles looked to me. "It means buckle your seat belt, Dorothy because Kansas is going bye-bye."

I looked around at everyone at their stations. They had clearly done this before. I looked at my lap. I had so many questions. What had I gotten myself into? What was waiting for me? Was I really so ready to leave this world behind? I sighed. I knew the answer to that last question: yes. Yes, I was. I looked at the mirror next to me. It was cracked. That's odd. It wasn't like that when I came in. I looked closer, and it started to repair itself. Like the cracks were ripples vanishing from the surface of a still pond.

"Did you- - " I turned to the crew of people. They were all busy. I turned back to the now fixed mirror. I stretched my hand out to it and poked it. I felt thick and gooey, liked pudding. I pulled my hand back, but the mirror's surface became impossibly sticky.

"Have you ever had a dream, Neo, that you were so sure was real?" Morpheus asked. "What if you could not wake from that dream? How would you know the difference between the dream world and the real world?"

I pulled my hand away from the mirror, and eventually, the sticky part unstuck from my hand and sprung back to the mirror. But, like actual pudding, part of the reflective goo was stuck on my finger, and it began to crawl up my hand. I shook my hand, trying to get it off, but it kept expanding.

"It's going into replication," Trinity noted.

"Apoc?" Morpheus asked.

"Still nothing," Apoc answered.

"It's cold!" I cried. I was up to my arm and spreading down my chest. It engulfed my body. I shifted, trying to get it off! "It's cold!"

"Tank, I'm going to need a signal soon." I heard Morpheus say.

"I got a fibrillation!" Trinity said.

"Apoc." Morpheus barked. "Location."

"Almost there," Apoc said.

The mirror crawled up my neck and began to cover my face.

"He's going into arrest!" Trinity sounded panicked.

"Lock!" Apoc said triumphantly. "I got him."

"Now, Tank. Now!" Morpheus exclaimed.

The mirror covered my face and poured down my throat! I screamed! I couldn't see anything I must have fallen out of my chair because I was on my back. I tried to open my eyes and was surprised to find that I could.

I was naked. I felt something down my throat, I instinctually shot up and threw up. I had to help it along by grabbing the mask that held it in place and pulling. The plugs and tubes that were connected to my body popped out. I gasped for air. When I looked around, I saw row and rows of little red pods; like the one, I was in right now. What the fuck!? Was this all a dream? Was I awake now? Was I asleep before?

Before I could think a creature of Lovecraftian horror dawned upon me. I tried to scream, but my lungs didn't work. It grabbed me with claws and threw me down some drain. I tried to stay afloat, but I was in such shock all knowledge about swimming failed me. I blurred out of consciousness. I was sure I was going to die.


	5. This… is the Matrix

NEO  
I had no sense of time. I hear voices whispering.  
"We've done it, Trinity. We found him." Morpheus sounded so triumphant.  
"I hope you're right." Trinity sounded unsure.  
"I don't have to hope it. I know it."  
I opened my eyes and saw Morpheus' face above me, haloed with a fluorescent glow of a light stick.  
Wait… was I dead?  
"Far from it." Morpheus murmured

* * *

I woke up from a deep sleep, feeling better. I was in a small room. I slowly sat up and began to examine myself. There was a futuristic IV plugged into the jack in his forearm. What were these holes in me? I started to pull it out, then decided that it was probably in there for a reason.  
I ran my hand over the short hair now covering my head. My fingers find a large outlet in the base of my skull. I paused. What was that? I brushed my fingers it over it. I was beginning to panic but then  
Morpheus walked in. I had so many questions!  
"Morpheus!" I said. "What's happened to me? Where am I? How'd I get here? Why…"  
He cut me off, "The more important question than 'what' is 'when?'"  
I frowned. "When?"  
"You believe the year is 2005 when in fact it is much closer to 2205." Aw man this day was just full of remarkable revelations, wasn't it?  
Morpheus nodded. "I can't say for certain what year it is because we honestly do not know."  
I don't know how to describe how I was feeling. It was an odd combination of utter and complete fear and numbness.  
"There's nothing I can say that will explain it to you. Come with me. See for yourself."  
As he led me up a ladder, he explained what was going on. "This is my ship, the Nebuchadnezzar. It's a hovercraft."  
We emerged from the basement. I saw a group of vaguely familiar people; they all looked busy at their stations.  
"This is the Core, where we broadcast our pirate signal and hack into the Matrix." The room was a swamp of bizarre electronic equipment. Vines of coaxial hung and snaked to and from huge monolithic battery slabs. There were a black portable satellite dish and banks of life systems and multiple computer monitors.  
"Most of my crew you already know."  
I recognized a few of them; there were three other guys I didn't remember. Someone popped out in a welding mask and pulled it off her face.  
"You know Trinity." Morpheus gestured to her.  
She smiled at me. Morpheus introduced his crew by standing behind them and reciting their name.  
"This is Apoc…" The driver of the car.  
"Switch" I didn't recognize that girl.  
"And Cypher." The bald guy who called me Dorothy.  
"The two you don't know are Tank and his big brother Dozer." They were standing next to computer monitors.  
"The little one behind you is Mouse." I slowly turned to see who was behind me and saw a young boy. He did, in fact, look a bit mousy. Everyone here vaguely resembled the people I was in the Matrix. However, they looked dumpier and unfit. I looked around, confused.  
"Where's the man who pointed a gun at me?"  
The woman standing next to Apoc, Switch, looked away and waved at me.  
"That was me." I gawked at her. I didn't understand why she'd be a man in the Matrix.  
"Please don't stare." She said. "It makes me feel uncomfortable."  
Morpheus walked to me. "You want to know what the Matrix is, Neo?" I looked at him. He turned to Trinity. "Help him, Trinity."  
She came up behind me and gave me a shy smile. She helped me into one of the chairs. I looked around nervously as she cuffed my feet to the chair. What were they planning? I felt Morpheus fiddling with something behind my head.  
"This will feel a little weird," Morpheus warned. I held my breath. Something stung at the base of my skull. My face tightened into a grimace; I stifled a scream. Suddenly…

* * *

CLICK!  
My ears popped, like when you equalize them underwater.  
I relaxed and opened my eyes. I looked around. I was in a white room with no walls, yet it surrounded me.  
"This is the Construct."  
Startled, I whipped around, and that found Morpheus now in the room with him. With him, the two leather chairs from the Hotel were set up in front of a large screen television.  
He gestured around him. "It is our loading program. We can load anything from clothing to equipment, to weapons; training simulations. Anything we need."  
"Right now." I tried to wrap my mind around it. "We're inside a computer program?"  
Morpheus smiled. "Is it so hard to believe? Your clothes are different, the plugs in your arms and head are gone." I started examining my body. He was right; I was like I had been before they found me.  
"Your hair has changed."  
I ran my fingers through my now full head of hair. It was all true!  
"Your appearance now is what we call residual self-image," Morpheus explained. "It is a mental projection of your digital self."  
I walked to the chair closest to me and ran my hand over the cracked leather. "This… this isn't real?"  
"What is real?" Morpheus asked. "What is real? How do you define real? If you're talking about what you feel, what you can smell, what you can taste or see, then real is simply electrical signals interpreted by your brain."  
He stepped towards me the table between the chairs and picked up a remote control. He clicked on the television. On the television, there were images of the Twenty-first Century city where I used to live.  
"This is the world you know. The world as it was at the end of the Twenty-first Century. It exists now only as part of a neural-interactive simulation that we call the Matrix."  
He sat down.  
"You have been living inside a dream world, Neo. This is the world as it exists today." Morpheus changed the channel, and I saw a very different city as we entered the television. We were now on the cliffside of the ruins of a future city protruding from the wasteland like the blackened ribs of a long-dead corpse.  
"Welcome to the desert."  
Thunder clapped in the distance.  
"We have only bits and pieces of information. What we know for certain is that, at some point in the early Twenty-second Century, all of mankind was united in celebration. We marveled at our magnificence as we gave birth to artificial intelligence."  
"A.I." I whispered to myself.  
"A singular consciousness that spawned an entire race of machines." Morpheus continued. "We don't know who struck first; them or us. But we know it was us that scorched the sky." He pointed up. I looked up at the cloudy and thunderous sky.  
"At the time, they were dependent on solar power, and it was believed they would be unable to survive without an energy source as abundant as the sun."  
Flashes of lightning blinked on the window of his sunglasses.  
"Throughout human history, we have been dependent on machines to survive. But, fate, it seems, is not without a sense of irony."  
On another flash, we pulled back from the darkness, which morphed into the red skin of a fetus.  
"The human body generates more bioelectricity than a 120-volt battery and over 25,000 B.T.U.'s of body heat."  
A thresher-like farm machine plucked the husk hanging from a stalk.  
"There are fields, endless fields where human beings are no longer born; we are grown."  
We rose up, the field stretching in every direction to the horizon, lightning tearing open the sky as a harvester swept past us. From the yawning black of the waste port, we began to pull back, and it snapped shut. Red amniotic gel flowed into the pod below us, pooling around a tiny newborn that suckled its feed tube.  
"For the longest time, I wouldn't believe it. But then I saw the fields with my own eyes; watched them liquefy the dead so they could be fed intravenously to the living and standing there, facing the pure horrifying precision, I came to realize the obviousness of the truth."  
The world pulled back, and we returned to the white space of the construct. Morpheus walked by the television as he clicked it off.  
"What is the Matrix? Control." He opened the back of the television remote control.  
"The Matrix is a computer-generated dream world built to keep us under control in order to change a human being into this"  
He held up a coppertop battery. The whole ordeal crashed down on me at once. I shook my head.  
"No!" I choked out. "I don't believe it! It's not possible!"  
"I didn't say that it would be easy, Neo. I just said that it would be the truth."  
FUCK THAT! I staggered away from him.  
"Stop," I growled. "Let me out!" I was yelling now. "Let me out! I want out!"

* * *

My eyes snapped open; I was back in the main deck. I began to thrash against the chair; I need to rip the cable from the back of my neck. It was really stuck in there.  
"Get this thing out of me!" I screamed.  
"Easy, Neo. Easy." Trinity soothed. Dozer held me while she unlocked it. Once it was out, I tore it away from me. I fell as I tripped free of the harness. Trinity reached out to me. I pushed her away  
"Don't touch me! Get away from me!" The world spun around me. "I don't believe it!" I snarled firmly. My body shuddered, I fell to my knees. Sweat poured off me as a pressure built inside my skull.  
"I don't…" I gagged.  
"He's going to pop!" Cypher said.  
He was right. I vomited violently, I pitched forward and blacked out. Yup. I think I made a good first impression.


	6. Training Starts

NEO

I woke up. I was lying on my bed. I sat up and looked around. I noticed that the IV that had been in my arm was gone. I sighed. I sat on the edge of my bed and put my hands in my hands. I had to come to terms with my situation. I thought about all the members of Morpheus's crew; how they seemed so comfortable with everything. I thought of Trinity. I felt guilty for being rude to her. I sort of liked her.

Someone knocked on the door. I looked up.

"Come in." I croaked. My throat felt really rough. Morpheus peeked in. We stared at each other for a bit, then he came in, closed the door and leaned against it.

(!- - uncomfortable silence.- -)

(!- - uncomfortable silence.- -)

(!- - uncomfortable silence.- -)

"I can't go back, can I?" I eventually said.

"No." Morpheus said. "But, if you could, would you really want to?"

Deep down, I knew the answer. No. I didn't want to go back to a meaningless world. I hadn't warmed up to this world yet but I didn't feel disconnected from it.

"I feel that I owe you an apology." Morpheus said sadly. "There is a rule that we do not free a mind once it reaches a certain age. It is dangerous. The mind has trouble letting go. I've seen it before, and I'm sorry. I did what I did because…" He took a shaky breath, "I had to."

I didn't look up at him. I just kept looking at my hands.

"When the Matrix was first built there was a man born inside who had the ability to change what he wanted, to remake the Matrix as he saw fit." It felt like he was confessing something to me. "It was he who freed the first of us; taught us the truth." I heard him shift his weight. "As long as the Matrix exists, the human race will never be free."

(!- - uncomfortable silence.- -)

Morpheus continued, breaking the silence. "After he died, the Oracle prophesied his return and that his coming would hail the destruction of the Matrix, an end to the war; bring freedom for our people. That is why there are those of us that have spent our entire lives searching the Matrix, looking for him. I did what I did because I believe the search is over."

I looked up at him. He was looking at his feet. He looked at me. I quickly looked away.

"Get some rest. You're going to need it." He turned to leave. I felt my eyebrows knit together.

"For what?" I asked.

He stopped at the door. "For your training."

* * *

(!- - uncomfortable silence.- -)

I lay in my bed, not sleeping, for what felt like forever; staring up at the lights.

(!- - uncomfortable silence.- -)

The door opened and Tank stepped inside. I sat up to looked at him.

"Morning." He said cheerily. "Did you sleep?"

"No." I confessed.

Tank chuckled. "You will tonight. I guarantee it." He offered his hand to me. "I'm Tank. I'll be your operator."

I took it and shook it. I noticed that his arms didn't have any jacks.

"Hey!" I exclaimed. "You don't have…" I stopped. I didn't know if talking about the plugs was a social faux pass.

"Any holes?" He grinned. "Nope. Me and my brother Dozer, we are one hundred percent pure, old-fashioned, home-grown human." He pointed to the floor with both hands. "Born free. Right here in the real world. Genuine child of Zion."

Zion… what's a Zion?

"Zion?" I asked.

Tank did a little jig. "If this war ended tomorrow, Zion is where the party would be."

"Zion's a city?"

Tank nodded. "The last human city. The only place we got left." He grinned. "You live long enough, you might even see it!"

That's… reassuring?

Tank beamed at me.

"What?" I asked self-consciously.

"Goddamn, I got to tell you, I'm fairly excited to see what you're capable of. I mean if Morpheus is right and all." He stopped, unable to contain his excitement. "We're not supposed to talk about any of that but…" He bit his lip and smiled, "if you are, well then this is an exciting time!"

I looked down. There seemed to be a lot riding on me. I didn't know if I'd be able to live up to it.

"We got a lot to do!" Tanks said. "So, let's get to it."

* * *

He wasn't messing around and very soon I was plugged in, hanging in one of the suspension chairs. Tank plopped into his operating chair and pulled out floppy disks.

"Now," Tank started, flipping through the disks. "We're supposed to load all these operations programs first, but that's major boring _shit_. Why don't we start with something a little fun?"

He smiled, and he held up one of the disks. "How about some combat training?" He slid it into the drive in my computer… thing.

I looked at the screen in front of me. It read Jujitsu.

"Jujitsu?" I asked. "I'm going to learn jujitsu?"

Smiling, Tank punched a button that read "load".

My body jumped against the harness and my eyes clamped shut. My body was pumped with practice, skill, endorphins, strength and instinctual accuracy in seconds. An instant later I snapped my eyes open.

"Holy shit!" I wheezed.

"Hey, Mikey, I think he likes it!" Tank smirked. "How about some more?"

"Hell yes!" I said excitedly.

* * *

MORPHEUS

I came into the main deck.

"How is he?" I asked.

"Ten hours straight. He's a machine!" Tank answered. I frowned at him.

I examined Neo. His body spasmed and then relaxed. He opened his eyes, breath hissing from his lips. He smiled confidently.

"I know Kung Fu." He said.

"I would like you to show me." I said with a smile.

Neo nodded the best he could.

"Before you do," I said, "I want to let you know how training works." Neo looked at me nervously.

"There are two types of combat. Physical Fighting, which we will be practicing soon. And Skill Fighting. Hopefully your skill will be revealed soon."

"Skill?" Neo asked.

"Most people gain a Skill inside the Matrix that is tied to the way their mind works. You will spar with the other members of this crew to observe their skill and hopefully unlock yours." I explained. "Now. Let's fight."


	7. Training with Morpheus

MORPHEUS

Neo and I were plugged into the Construct as the Dojo was uploaded. Neo seemed confused but fortunately, not distressed. He looked around.

"This is a sparring program, similar to the programmed reality of the Matrix," I explained. "It has the same basic rules. Rules like gravity. What you must learn is that these rules are no different than the rules of a computer system. Some of them can be bent. Others can be broken. Understand?"

Neo nodded. Good. I assumed a fighting stance.

"Then hit me, if you can." I ginned.

Neo assumed a similar stance, cautiously circling around me. Suddenly he gave a short cry and launched a furious attack. His, fists, and feet were striking me from every angle. He pressed into his attack, but I blocked each and every blow with effortless speed.

* * *

While Neo and Morpheus spared, Tank monitored their Life Systems. He noticed that Neo was wildly and chaotically lit up as opposed to the slow and steady rhythm of Morpheus.

Mouse burst into the dining room, interrupting dinner. He excitedly exclaimed that Morpheus was fighting Neo. All at once, everyone bolted for the door.

* * *

Neo's face was knotted, teeth clenched, and he hurled himself at me. I smiled.

"Good. Adaptation." I said as I parred his fists. "Improvisation. But your weakness isn't your technique."

I went on the offensive. I attacked him. My feet and fists were everywhere; I took Neo apart. For every blow Neo blocked, five more hit their marks until - Neo fell. Panting, on his hands and knees, blood spits from his mouth, speckling the white floor of the Dojo.

"How did I beat you?" I asked.

Neo shook his head, dejectedly. "You - You're too fast."

"Do you think my being faster, stronger has anything to do with my muscles in this place?" I asked.

Neo looked frustrated, still unable to catch his breath. He shook his head again.

"Do you believe that's _air_ you are breathing now?" I pointed out.

Neo looked at me, realization dawning on him. I smiled.

"Again!" I ordered.

He stood and assumed another stance. I attacked this time. I struck at him, and he blocked some of my strikes, but I was able to tag him a few times as well as a withheld finishing face punch.

"Come on, Neo. What are you waiting for? You're faster than this." I taunted him. He speed increased, but I was still faster and stronger than him. He fell again.

"Come on!" I shouted at him. "Stop trying to hit me and actually hit me!"

I fire seemed to spark a fire in Neo, and he began to transcend the rules within the Dojo. I began to struggle to block his onslaught of attacks. He backed me into a post and delivered a punch that stopped centimeters in front of my face.

"I know what you're trying to do," Neo said breathlessly. He still needed to breathe.

"I'm trying to free your mind," I said, my breaths even. "But I can show you the door. You must be the one who walks through it."

Ne looked perplexed. I looked up.

"Tank. Load the 'Jump Program.'"

The world reseeded out of existence, and a rooftop rushed from below us. Neo looked around startled.

"Let it all go, Neo. Fear. Doubt. Disbelief. Free your mind." I spun and ran hard at the edge of the rooftop. I effortlessly made the jump. I turned to observe him. He paced around for a bit. He peeked over the edge and flinched back from it. He rubbed his face with his hands. He looked at me. I made no movement.

He took a deep breath and started to run. He launched himself into the air with a single maniacal shriek- - - but he came up drastically short. He plummeted.

I knew that, as I took the warp pad down, that when he hit the ground, it would give way, stretching like a trapeze net. I knew he would bounce and flip onto his back.

I appeared next to him. I helped him to his feet.

"Do you know why you didn't make it?" I asked. Neo sagged.

"Because... I didn't think I would?" He replied. I smiled and nodded.

* * *

We took a break and reentered the real world. Neo tried to move but groaned, cradling his ribs. He spat blood into his hand. Neo looked at me with confusion and held out his fingers.

"I thought it wasn't real." He said.

"Your mind makes it real," I answered. He stared at the blood.

"If you are killed in the Matrix," Neo asked, "do you die here?"

I nodded, "The body cannot live without the mind."

* * *

The next day we through another training deck. I moved effortlessly through a crowded downtown street while Neo struggled to keep up, constantly being bumped and shouldered off the path.

"The Matrix is a system, Neo," I explained. "That system is our enemy. But when you are inside, you look around, what do you see? Businessmen, lawyers, teachers, carpenters. The minds of the very people we are trying to save. But until we do, these people are still a part of that system, and that makes them our enemy."

A cop writing a parking ticket looked up at Neo from behind his sunglasses. Neo seemed intimidated by him.

"You have to understand that most of these people are not ready to be unplugged, and many of them are so inured; so hopelessly dependent on the system that they will fight to protect it."

A beautiful woman in a red dress smiled at Neo as she passed by. Neo looked at her, even turning his body to follow her with his eyes.

"Were you listening to me, Neo?" I asked. "Or were you looking at the woman in the red dress?"

"I was…" Neo began to defend himself.

"Look again," I instructed

Neo turned just as Agent Smith leveled a gun at his face. He flinched away.

"Freeze it," I called.

Everything except Neo and me froze. Neo looked around

"This - this isn't the Matrix?" He asked, hesitantly.

"No," I answered. "It's another training program designed to teach you one thing; if you are not one of us, you're one of them." I looked at the Agent.

"What are they?" Neo asked.

"Sentient programs. They move in and out of any software still hardwired to their system. That means that anyone that we haven't unplugged is potentially an Agent. Inside the Matrix, they are everyone, and they are no one." I explained.

Neo stared at the Agent.

I continued "We've survived by hiding from them, by running from them, but they are the gatekeepers, they're guarding all the doors, holding all the keys, which means that sooner or later someone is going to have to fight them."

Neo stepped towards the Agent and inspected it.

"Someone?" He mused.

I lowered my gaze. "I won't lie to you, Neo. Every single man or woman who has stood their ground, who has fought an Agent, has died. But where they failed, you will succeed."

I looked up at Neo. His eyebrows were knitted together.

"Why?"

"I've seen an Agent punch through a concrete wall. Men have emptied entire clips at them and hit nothing but air. Yet their strength and their speed are still based on a world that is built by rules. Because of that, they will never be as strong or as fast as you can be. Neo scratches his head."

Neo turned to me. "What? Are you trying to tell me that I can dodge bullets?"

I shook my head. "No, Neo. I'm trying to tell you that when you're ready, you won't have to."

My cell phone rang, and I flipped it open.

"We have a problem." Tank said.


	8. Squidy

US

The Nebuchadnezzar blistered by, trailing a swirling, supercharged, electromagnetic wake. Morpheus slid into the co-pilot's chair next to Dozer.

 _M: Did Zion send the warning?_

 _D: No. Another ship. Tank I think, they're running a parallel pipeline._

Morpheus scanned the decayed landscape of the sewer main that rolled by as Neo and Trinity squeeze into the cockpit behind him. Alarms began to sound.

 _D: Shit, Squiddy's sweeping in quick._

 _M: Set it down in there._

 _N: Squiddy?_

 _T: A Sentinel. It's a killing machine designed for one thing: search and destroy._

Neo felt the ship rock to the side as it squeezed into a tiny supply line. The Nebuchadnezzar set down, almost wedged into a pipe that barely accommodates its size.

Morpheus clicked the intercom.

 _M: How we doing, Tank?_

Tank worked furiously at the operator's station as the ceaseless whir of the ship's turbines ground to a halt. The main deck is plunged into dark silence. The rest of the screw stands behind him as he whispers.

 _Tk: Power off-line. E.M.P. armed and ready._

Tank's fingers curled around a small key that glowed a dim red. Neo leans into Trinity's ear.

 _N: Electromagnetic pulse?_

Trinity nodded.

 _T: It disables any electrical system in the blast radius. It's the only weapon we have against the machines._

Neo frowns at her

 _N: I meant, we have one?_

Dozer looks up.

 _D: Now we wait._

Neo looked through the cockpit's windshield; the vast cavern of the sewer main yawned before them. Strands of green haze curled around mossy icicles which were dangling into a pool of churning frozen waste. Neo began to angle around Dozer, but Morpheus grabbed him.

 _M: Don't move. It'll hear you._

Neo froze and waited. Without the Nebuchadnezzar's heating systems, the temperature in the cockpit began to rapidly drop. The crew members huddle together.

They saw it. In the darkness, a shifting shadow of mechanized death. It was beautiful and terrifying; black alloy skin flickers like sequins beneath sinewy coils and skeletal appendages. It looked like a spider crossed with a squid.

Neo could feel the hairs on the back of his neck rise as it silently glided over them with shark-like malevolence. I paused and looked directly at them. Everyone held their breath. Its arm morphed into a satellite-like dish and if monitored them. Then it disappeared into the darkness.

In the frozen little room, everyone breathed a little easier.


End file.
